Always There
by NekoPop92
Summary: It was after Yui's death that they all slowly drifted away. Azusa's mind is slowly unwinding, until what she considers to be a hallucination in the form of her beloved senpai reveals itself. And all this hallucination wants is the band to be reunited.
1. It Can't Be Real

**Hello all! This an AUish sort of story. I never really get to write anything sad so I wanted to try my hand at it. Ah...it is slightly based off of the new anime AnoHana, but it will vear off into its own thing fairly soon. You, of course, do not have to watch AnoHana to get this story. Also, while this chapter is very Azusa-centric, not all chapter will be centered on her as I plan on giving each character their chance to shine. Hopefully, this story will be a great success. Please enjoy. **

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><p>It was after Yui died that they all split apart…<p>

Even though it was already three months ago, Azusa could remember like it was yesterday the day Hirasawa Yui had died. She was there, after all. The whole band was, actually- even though Azusa only had blurred memories of them actually being by her side.

It was sad really. Azusa stared out of her window…it was raining just like that unfaithful day. She ran her short fingernail against the glass, following the trail of a raindrop that had stuck to the window. She felt nothing…at this moment, at least, she felt so empty. She always felt empty when she was alone nowadays.

She remembered how the girls were walking together…she could not quite remember where to but she knew that it had to be after school, perhaps after practice, because they were all wearing their uniforms.

Yui had been laughing that sweet, child-like laugh that showed just how joyful and caring she really was. Her hair had been sticking to her face a bit because she did not stay underneath her umbrella as much as she should have been and tended to let it lean to the side sometimes.

No one had been paying attention.

They were so caught up in their laughter and playful banter that they did not notice that the crossing path was not yet ready to accept pedestrians. Yui, who was in the lead of the small all girl group, twirled happily around into the street, holding her light blue umbrella out to the side with one hand and looking like a young Japanese Marry Poppins.

Azusa's eyes widened as her laughter abruptly stopped when she heard the sound of a horn honking loudly. She did not exactly see it for some reason, or perhaps she was just defensively blocking it from her memory, but she did hear the dull thud of Yui's body against the truck several times. Later, she would be told that Yui actually flipped on top of the truck and skidded off the back of it.

Time seemed to go in slow motion. The truck skidding to a stop, the yells and panics of bystanders filled Azusa's ears. She saw the yellow flurry of Ritsu's umbrella flinging to the side and the sound of her and Mugi's footsteps running towards Yui's limp body.

She did not know when, but somehow she and Mio also ended up by Yui's body. Azusa did not know who was yelling…she supposed now that it was her since her throat had been so hoarse afterwards….but her voice seemed so far away. She could not remember then feeling of them sliding down her cheeks, but she was certain that tears had been streaming down, mixing and mingling with the rain.

But God, did she remembered the pungent smell of Yui's blood. It was coming from her head mostly, though some was flooding from her nose as well.

She remembered Ritsu's voice, "someone call an ambulance!" It was only later that she realized Ritsu herself was probably too distressed like the rest of them to realized that they all had cellular device and could have called themselves.

There was the person that had gotten out of the truck too. He was screaming over and over again, "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! God, I didn't mean to!"

Azusa also remembered the sounds of Mio vomiting somewhere in the background. She remembered looking at the girl, and not really _seeing _her, but knowing that she was there. She remembered seeing Mugi, though. The girl was as pale as the moon, her eyes unblinking as she stared at Yui's by lifeless form, and now Azusa guessed that Yui's body was forever implanted in the poor girl's mind's eye.

But that was three months ago. And now Azusa found herself not wanting to go to school on this rainy, droopy morning.

Nonetheless, Azusa opened up her umbrella and ventured out into the world. The walk to school, as usual, was eventless and almost mind-numbing. The world smelt of rain and grass as it did on that day, so Azusa was not exactly in a good mood.

As usual, she sat next to Jun and Ui at lunch.

Ui… Azusa allowed her eyes to wander over the girl.

She had always been a quiet person, but now her quietness was unnerving and creepy…especially to anyone who did not know what she had lost.

"Eh…so," Jun said, attempting to make small talk as she tried to do often nowadays. "Does anyone want to go to the shopping district after school? There's a pretty good sale…"

"Ah…no, I think I'll just go home tonight," Ui said with that same fake smile that she had been wearing for months now.

'Tonight…' Azusa thought blandly. There was no need to add on 'tonight' anymore…Ui stayed in _every _night. Azusa could not help but notice that Ui had become quite the hermit ever since her sister's death, but then again so had Azusa, albeit unwillingly.

"I'm busy tonight," Azusa lied through her teeth, not wanting to hurt Jun or leave her hanging but honestly not wanting to go shopping.

"I see," Jun frowned and used a chopstick to poke at her food. She then sighed and pointed her chopsticks at Ui's untouched bento, "you should try to eat, ya know."

"Oh," Ui said flatly, and then shook her head and smiled in that fake manner that Azusa hated so much, "I'm just not hungry, Jun-chan."

"She's right Ui-chan," Azusa said. Even though she rarely felt hungry herself anymore, she still forced herself to eat so that she could get the nutrients she needed to survive. That's all she did now…was survive. Just live, just go through the motions…

"I'll eat at home, really," Ui held up her hands defensively and added, "don't worry about me you guys."

Jun sighed for the umpteenth time and shook her head disapprovingly.

Azusa sighed as well and stood up. "Ne, I'll be back when class starts again…" she said and picked up her lunch. She would just take it to her locker…walk around a bit…she just could not take being around Ui's fake smile anymore.

It was hard to be around Ui at all, actually. She looked so much like Yui…her fake smile looked like Yui's 'eheheh, I just did something stupid' look.

"Ah- Azusa-chan!" A familiar voice called, and Azusa turned to see Sawako walking towards her, her purple heels clicking against the floor.

"Konnichiwa Sawako-sensei," Azusa said, bowing politely to the older woman.

Sawako's face looked pained for a moment before she chuckled lightly and waved her hand, "No need to be so formal Azusa-chan," she informed her. "I just wanted to see how you've been doing, hmm?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Azusa was feeling uncomfortable, but she did not want to be rude to an old friend and advisor.

"_Awww isn't she cute Yui-chan?" Sawako clapped her hands together happily as she stared down at her handiwork. _

"_Of course! Azunyan is the cutest!" Yui's arms wrapped around her neck. Azusa could smell the strawberries and whipped cream lingering on her breath…and she was so, so warm…_

'_Why did I push her away…?' _

Azusa snapped back to reality, her throat getting that familiar aching feeling that she normally got when she was faced with someone that reminded her of Yui.

This was exactly why she could no longer be in the Light Music club…

Not that it existed anymore.

Azusa was never more thankful when a saddened looking Sawako bid her farewell and told her not to be late getting back to class. She nodded, barely even hearing the woman. She turned went to her locker, stashed her half-eaten lunch and began to venture towards the library.

The door opened as she was reaching out her hand.

"Oh, excuse me…Azusa-chan…" Nodoka said her name so quietly that Azusa almost did not hear her.

"It's alright." Azusa said tightly, her throat clenching up. Why was she running into so many people today? She should've just stayed home in the safeness of her empty home…

Azusa had not seen Nodoka in a while, but every time she did the girl looked even more different than before. Her hair was slowly growing out, so that it was almost the length that Yui's had been. She seemed older, as if she was aging quicker than anyone else in the school. Azusa could not explain it. But unlike Sawako, the girl did not linger. She simply held the door open for Azusa and walked away as if nothing had just happened.

Azusa knew that Nodoka had quit being the class President. There had been talk about it all over the school after Yui's death. Now, it seemed, Nodoka was just a normal, quiet girl with glasses. Her grades were no longer top-notch, or maybe that was just a rumor…whatever the case, Nodoka certainly did not have that wise yet caring atmosphere about her anymore. Just as it was with Ui and Azusa, Nodoka seemed to be only a ghost or a half-person…

'I should stop thinking these weird thoughts…' Azusa drank slowly from the water fountain, trying to clear her mind. 'Nodoka-san is so different though…I wonder how the others are faring…'

Finding that out, though, was a blank mission. If her throat clenched up around Sawako and Nodoka and she could barely take being around Ui for more than ten minutes…then being around the girls that she had had the most times with around Yui was probably impossible.

Azusa turned and went into a random book aisle, not really caring to read but just wanted to pass some time until her lunch period was over. She journeyed into the back of the library, where there were a few old desks and couches where some of the more studious students went when they wanted absolute silence.

She did not expect to see _her _there.

Her long blond hair was draping over her shoulders and her head was bent so that her bangs covered her shiny blue eyes. Azusa swallowed the lump in her throat and hid behind a low book shelf, thankful that Kotobuki Tsumugi had not seen her but still wanting to stare at the girl a bit more.

It had been a long time since she had last seen her…she didn't stick around the school much anymore, or so she had heard. Azusa wondered if the girl was sleeping or praying or something…

That's when the girl lifted her head and looked around with a suspicious look, as if she could feel that someone was watching her. Then Azusa noticed that she had headphones in her ears when the girl slowly reached up and took one out. 'I never saw Mugi-senpai listening to music before…' But Azusa considered that it wasn't very strange, since Mugi did have a love for music.

Then she noticed Mugi let out a sigh, a long withdrawn sigh that made Azusa's heart lurch for some reason, before the older girl stood to her feet and dusted out her skirt a bit. She pulled her blazer a bit closer on her body and turned, causing Azusa to gasp lightly and turn around completely so that Mugi could not see her. She was sitting on her bottom, her knees pulled up close to her, and she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to hold her breath.

'Please don't see me…'

Thankfully, Mugi walked right past her into a nearby aisle without seeing her. Azusa could hardly see her, but she could see her feet rising a bit so that she was standing on the tips of her toes. She imagined that a book had caught Mugi's interest and that she was reaching for it. Azusa was not sure if the girl had gotten her book her not, but her feet soon came down onto the floor again and turned so that she could walk out of the aisle.

"Ja ne, Azusa-chan…" that painfully familiar, soft voice said just loud enough so that Azusa could hear her.

Azusa froze, completely embarrassed and slightly shocked as Mugi took her leave. Azusa then frowned and stood up, dusting herself off and sighing. She _did _want to chase after Mugi…but just could not bring herself to do so. Besides, it did not seem as if Mugi wanted to exactly have a conversation with her either.

Well, in three minutes the lunch period would be over anyways…Azusa did not have time to chat…and bring up any of those heart-wrenching memories.

OoOoOo

Home. Thank goodness. Azusa had not run into anymore of her old friends so she did not have to think about anyone other than Sawako, Nodoka, and Mugi. She let her book bag slip lazily from her shoulder and slammed her body on her bed. 'I have a headache…' she thought, running her hands across her eyes wearily.

She rolled over and reached for her pillow, snuggling her face into it. The young girl quickly fell into unconsciousness…

"Azunyan! Azunyan, get up!"

"Mou…Yui-senpai, not yet…."

"A-zu-nyan!"

Azusa's eyes flickered open quickly, and the girl's body sprang up in a matter of seconds. Her breathing was suddenly erratic and her heart raced and thumped against her chest.

"Heh…it was just a dream…" Azusa ran a hand through her bangs and shook her head from side to side. "She sounded so close though…"

It was dark now, but not dark enough for the moon to be shining brightly. Azusa guessed that it was probably around 6 o'clock or so.

"Azunyan!"

A chill went through Azusa's body as she sat stock-still. "Azunyaaaan!"

"Ugh!" Azusa threw her hands up to her ears and covered them. 'Why can't I stop hearing your voice…why am I audibly hallucinating like this? You're dead! I _know _that!'

"Azunyan, it's me! Yui! Azunyan!"

"SHUT UP!"

And there was silence.

Azusa had never screamed so loudly in her life before…well, except for when Yui had actually died, but that wasn't from anger. Azusa could hear the blood rushing in her ears, so she could safely assume that her face was now an awful red color. She looked down at her hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. Tears were sprouting in her eyes and started to slowly flow down her cheeks.

"Why can't I just…why…." Azusa was sobbing now, remembering the strange, hurt look in Sawako's eyes, the distant and unemotional look in Nodoka's and the sound of Mugi's voice so far away and so unsure, so heavy… "I can't go back…" Azusa choked out, not entirely sure if she was crazy or not for speaking aloud to no one but herself but not really caring at this point. She was alone, as usual. "I can't be friends with them anymore!"

"F-friends…with the others?"

"Mio-senpai, Ritsu-senpai! Mugi-senpai!" Azusa yelled, clenching her bed sheets. "Even though I really miss them…even though it hurts…I- I can't!"

"Azunyan…"

Azusa suddenly felt arms wrapping slowly around her. Azusa did not stiffen or fight the feeling as she felt the sensation of a warm body holding her close. She could even feel and smell that strawberry-scented hair against her cheek. "Yui-senpai," Azusa said in a breathy-whisper.

"I'm here Azunyan, it's okay. S-so don't cry anymore or I will too!"

Azusa did not know how long she…or they, sat there. But she did know that it took quite a while for her to regain her senses. Then her mind went into overdrive as she ran her hand along Yui's back.

'I'm hallucinating completely…I-I've gone crazy! Yui-senpai's dead! She has been for three whole months! There's no such things as ghosts so…'

"Aaaahhh!" Azusa screamed and threw the body away from her. With feline-like reflexes, she sprang out of her bed and switched on the light switch. What she saw, was indeed… "Y-Yui-senpai?"

"Oww! Azunyan!" Yui huffed.

Those large brown eyes, those yellow hairclips… "Y-you're not Ui?" Azusa asked timidly, her entire body shaking.

"Eh? No," Yui shook her head negatively, "I'm Yui!"

Azusa slipped down to the floor until she was on her butt and her back was against the wall. "I've really gone crazy…manifesting Yui-senpai to this point is extreme…"

"Ehh?" Yui neared her, crawling on her hands and knees. "Eheheh…" she laughed nervously, "gomen ne Azunyan, I didn't mean to scare you…"

"You aren't here," Azusa muttered, "You aren't here!"

"I'm not?"

"No!" Azusa shouted, "I'm hallucinating! You're dead! So go away!"

Yui frowned, "demo…even if I'm dead…that doesn't mean that I can't still be here, ne, Azunyan?"

"That's _exactly _why you can't be here!"

"Hmm…" Yui sat Indian-style with a finger poking at her bottom lip. "But I _am _here though. Ah! I know! It's sort of like Ricchan's scary stories! Except not scary!"

"Y-you're saying you're a ghost…?" Azusa bit her lip, looking Yui up and down. She looked perfectly solid, and she was certain that she had _felt _her body against her.

"Mmhmm!" Yui nodded and smiled. "I can't go back until I'm finished here!"

"Go back…where?" Azusa looked skeptic, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm not allowed to tell, Azunyan!" Yui laughed lightly and ran a hand through her hair.

"If that's true…then am I the only one that can see you?"

"Others can see me if they want to," Yui explained, "but I don't think anyone else wants to…" Yui seemed a bit saddened by this but then quickly regained herself. "That's where you come in Azunyan!"

"Huh?" Azusa asked dumbly.

"You can get everyone back together!"

"Yui-senpai…"

"Everything will be okay, Azunyan! Everyone just has to be together again!"

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><p><strong>AN: Ooh! Cliffie~! And so, while Ritsu and Mio did not appear in this chapter they will certainly be in the next one! All I can say is that this story is in for a lot of drama, tears, blood, and sweat...eh...mostly on my behalf -_-' So I hope that you all will kindly review and look forward to the next installment! **


	2. Boundaries

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! I hope you all got my replies. This chapter is kind of the end of the beginning, or rather, the introduction of the story? Idk...hopefully you'll see what I mean XD So enjoy!**

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><p>The weather was such a contradiction from yesterday that Azusa could not help but think that the previous day had never happened. As she stepped out of the confines of her home, she felt the sun's rays against her face, warming her cheeks and arms in greeting.<p>

Yes. It felt as if yesterday had all been some crazy dream. In fact, Azusa was almost convinced that it was. After talking trying to explain to Yui over and over why she could not ever bring back their old companions, she had finally given up and went back to sleep despite Yui's many protests. Thankfully, when Azusa had awakened this morning, Yui was nowhere to be found. Azusa had even timidly called out her name…which she now considered to be a stupid thing to do.

'Of_ course _Yui-senpai wouldn't answer when I called her…' Azusa thought with a frown as she finally stepped into her classroom.

"Good morning Azunyan!"

Azusa froze right in her tracks. There, sitting in a desk next to Ui, was Yui waving with that big goofy grin on her face. Azusa could feel the blood draining from her face as her eyes widened in surprise. 'No…' she thought, clenching her books tighter in her hands. 'No!' The girl's eyes quickly went to Ui, who was smiling a little smile at Jun, though Azusa knew that it was not a real smile because her eyes were not in it.

Jun was chatting away, trying to get Ui to display some type of emotion as she did every day. Azusa could not help but feel sorry for the girl, whose attempts never bore any fruit. She always tried to stay cheerful for Ui and Azusa's sake…but…

"Ne, ne," Yui's voice floated over to Azusa's ears, snapping her from her musings instantly. "I know it'd be weird to talk to me right now Azunyan, but I just can't help but talk to you anyways!"

Azusa cleared her throat and sat in her seat, which was luckily two seats away from where Ui and Jun sat, as Yui walked to her side. Azusa snatched out a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote hastily on it: Leave. Me. Alone!

Yui tilted her head to the side when she finished reading Azusa's words. "Hm…Azunyan…your handwriting has gotten really sloppy."

Azusa twisted around in her seat angrily and opened her mouth to yell at Yui, but stopped when she noticed the weird looks she was receiving from her classmates. The young girl blushed and slowly turned around so that she was sitting properly in her seat and held her pencil again. She scribbled down quickly: You can't be here. Go away!

"Where am I supposed to go, Azunyan? No one else can see me!" Yui said, folding her arms and pouting.

Azusa wrote again, her handwriting becoming even sloppier than before: I don't know! Just not here!

"But Az-u-nyan~! We have to get the others and-" Yui stopped midsentence as Azusa bit down on her lip and swiped at the tears that was threatening to spill from her eyes. "Heh…I keep making you cry, Azunyan. Gomen." Yui scratched her head, her voice shaky as she tried to hold back her sudden tears as well.

"Ano…Azunyan?" Yui asked timidly, pulling at her plain white t-shirt. Azusa spared the girl a glance, urging Yui on. "It's just that…um…I can't do anything for Ui. B-but! You guys can…and…it'd be nice, ne? If you were all back together…that's why, Azunyan."

"Azusa-chaaan! What are you doing sitting over here and spacing out like that?" Jun was suddenly in Azusa's face, waving a hand back and forth to get the seemingly entranced girl's attention. "Eh? Azusa?" Jun blinked when she saw the water swimming in Azusa's coffee brown eyes. "W-what's wrong?"

"N-nothing!" Azusa assured her, wiping the tears away with her arm and trying to smile despite the empty, hollow feeling in her chest. Jun frowned, but their teacher entered the room then, and the day began…

OoOoOoOo

Yui was wandering. That was what she was supposed to do, she supposed, since she was a spirit and all…spirits wander and all, after all. It was lunch time, but she decided to just leave Azusa's classroom for a while.

Her heart had stopped beating when she had looked into Azusa's eyes. They were not the same eyes that she knew so well. Those eyes were so filled with pain, confusion and frustration that Yui just could not take looking at them. They were the same eyes that her little sister now sported as well…

Yui sighed, something she did not do often but now just could not help but to do so. Everything was all topsy-turvy! She had to fix it! But…how?

The deceased girl slowly walked right through the door of the closed music room. Well, that was one perk of being dead that she did enjoy a lot…she could be anywhere she wanted. Her big brown eyes wandered over the room. The fish tank was empty of water and turtle, which caused her to wonder what had become of Ton-chan. The couches and the large table in the room had plastic draped over them. There was no smell of cakes or tea reaching her nostrils. There was not even a ray of sunshine reaching into the room because the curtains were closed tight.

The room was cold.

It felt dead.

Yui jumped slightly when she heard a sudden crash coming from the closet. "Eh…?" Yui tilted her head to the side as footsteps suddenly padded against the wooden floor. "Ah! Ricchan!" Yui felt a burst of happiness in her heart as she ran over to the girl, who was wiping at her sweaty forehead with her arm.

"Ricchan! Captain!" Yui shouted, bubbling with excitement. Sure, she had tried yesterday before venturing over to Azusa's house…but maybe if she tried harder- since they were at school, a more familiar place, maybe Ritsu would be able to hear her. "Ricchan!"

But Ritsu only slammed a cardboard box on the table and rolled up the sleeves to her blazer. "Hmm…" she hummed, peeking into the box with Yui looking over her shoulder. She pulled out a large, scary face mask with the hair poking out on the ends of it. "Heh. Mio…" Ritsu chuckled lightly and shook her head, placing the scary mask back down into its box again.

Yui remember that mask well; Ritsu had used it to scare the living daylights out of Mio before.

"Oh! Mio-chan!" Yui turned her head from side to side, "Where is she?"

"Gah! This is hopeless!" Ritsu suddenly shouted, startling the ghost a bit. She slammed her palms onto the table and wiped forcefully at her eyes. "Geez…why'd you have to die you idiot? Making me actually do _work. _Making everyone so…" but she trailed off, probably keeping the rest in her inner thoughts. Whatever the case, the girl seemed to feel a bit better now, as she went back into the closet to continue her work.

"Gomen ne…Ritsu…" Yui apologized softly even though she knew her friend could not hear her. She exited the room, in search of the next friend.

Little did she know, back in the room, Ritsu had nearly dropped another box on her foot. She turned around, blinking in confusion. "Heh…thought I heard something there…" she shook her head at her own silliness and got back to work.

OoOoOoOoOo

_It's just that…um…I can't do anything for Ui. B-but! You guys can…and…it'd be nice, ne? If you were all back together…that's why, Azunyan._

Azusa found that she could not concentrate in class all day long. She kept rewinding that damned hallucinations' words over and over in her head. 'Even if she's a hallucination…then that means that _I _want to help Ui and the others…and if it'll get me to stop imagining Yui, especially in public…' Azusa's rational mind was reeling. She was walking home, alone as usual. At least that hadn't changed. 'Oh yeah…I have to go get some stuff from the convenience store…'

The black haired girl gripped her backpack straps tighter and turned in the direction of the local store that she frequently visited. Her thoughts were focused and set on Yui. For once, though, she did not have to deal with replaying that morbid day over in her mind. Now she had something else to concentrate on.

She grabbed a red basket to put her items in on the way inside of the store, the little bells jingling as she stepped through the door. She systematically grabbed tuna, butter, and soy sauce, her mind so clouded that she could not pay attention to anything other than the confusing thoughts in her head and the objects that she needed to get to survive at home. That's why Azusa was surprised when she suddenly bumped into something soft and was pushed back a bit. She dug her heel into the floor, stopping herself from falling onto her butt.

"Ah- gomen nasai!" Azusa apologized with a small bow, her ponytails slipping over her shoulders. It seemed that she had been running into people more often these days, and Azusa mentally berated herself as she awaited the person's reply.

"Azusa…"

Azusa froze in place. That voice. She knew it too well. It was slightly deep and yet it was soft and beautiful. Right now, probably from surprise, it was airy and quiet. Azusa slowly rose to her full height and tentatively rose her chestnut brown eyes up to meet surprised, gray ones.

"M-Mio-senpai…" Azusa was clenching the handle to her basket so tightly that her knuckles were starting to turn white. Her throat immediately got itchy as the image of Mio vomiting replayed in her mind's eye.

Mio looked just as comfortable as Azusa felt. Her mouth was caught somewhere between a frown and a weird looking smile.

"I-I'm sorry for bumping into you!" Azusa apologized for the second time, her face heating up in embarrassment. 'Mio-senpai…it's really her! She's still so pretty…she's still so…' A million thoughts flooded Azusa's mind about the senpai that she adored so much. She could not help but feel so confused and embarrassed when faced against someone that she (still) looked up to so much.

"It's alright," Mio finally replied, removing that burden off of Azusa's mind. "Ah…um…I was just surprised that it's you…" Azusa did not fail to notice the slight blush that crept upon Mio's cheeks. "I mean, it's been so long," Mio went on, and then shook her head, thinking that she was perhaps saying the wrong thing. "It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too," Azusa admitted with a small smile. Somehow, the itchiness in her throat was decreasing. "Ano…are you going home after this?"

"I'm going to Ritsu's actually," Mio replied, giving her own small smile. The two black haired girls moved in unison, each finishing up gathering their items and getting in line together. Mio chatted on softly about how she was going to spend the night over Ritsu's tonight, and Azusa found that she was glad to hear that the two had remained friends.

She wanted to know more. 'Are they still friends with Mugi-senpai? She was all alone yesterday…' Azusa thought as they exited the store, bags in hand.

"U-um…M-Mio-senpai…" Azusa slowly brought her eyes up to see Mio paying full attention to her. It was almost like back then…when Mio and Azusa would be in the corner of the room strapping on their guitars, perfectly in tune with each other, wanting to get down to business.

But things could never be that way again. She could see it in Mio's worried expression, the way her left hand clenched and unclenched. Things had become too difficult for the both of them. Times had changed. How could she ask Mio any question after not speaking to her in so many months?

"…it was just…really nice seeing you," Azusa said, casting down her eyes.

Mio's grey eyes seemed to dull and she nodded. "It was nice seeing you too," she replied with a slight waver in her voice. "I'll…see you later then?"

"Mmhmm," Azusa tried to smile, but she doubted that she came even relatively close. Their words seemed to be lies, putting them both on edge as Mio bid her farewell. She turned, her long shiny hair swinging like a majestic cape behind her. Azusa watched her walk off, just as she did that time that seemed so long ago…

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><p>"<em>This is just stupid. I don't even know why…why are we…" <em>

"_Ritsu!" _

"_Ritsu-senpai!" _

_Crash. _

"_Where are you going? Ritsu!" _

_Slam. _

"_R-Ritsu…" _

"_You should follow her. You're the only one she might listen to." _

"…"

_And they were gone. _

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><p>Azusa's eyes fluttered open. She groaned and rolled over. For the first time, she was not surprised to see her.<p>

"Ne, Yui-senpai…you're not going to leave anytime soon are you?"

"Eheheh…" Yui scratched her cheek after laughing nervously, "nope," she admitted a bit too happily for Azusa's tastes.

Azusa rolled over so that she was lying completely on her back. Her hair was undone so that it spread all around behind her. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. "I'll try, Yui-senpai…"

Yui only tilted her head to the side.

"I'll try to…make friends again…and get everyone back together. Then we'll help Ui, if we can."

"Azunyan…" She could hear the tears in Yui's high-pitched voice. "Azunyan!" she shouted happily, leaping up to wrap her arms around Azusa's neck. She cuddled into the crook in her neck, her breath tingling Azusa's skin.

Just like it used to.

Just how it was supposed to be.

"Arigato!"

Azusa did not know if she was crazy or not. She did not know if she would be able to help Yui, hallucination or not, but she did know one thing.

She now had a reason to keep on living. She had been living her days fruitlessly, just going through the motions, just trying to get by. But she missed how in sync she had been with Mio. She had been great friend with Mugi, always able to come to someone who seemed so motherly. She actually enjoyed getting teased by Ritsu but also protected in a way.

She definitely missed Ui's true smile.

So she would try. She would give it one last shot…she had this one last chance to break down the barriers that had been set between them.

She had one more chance to make Yui happy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yes, we have a condensed flashback, and now an Azunyan on a mission! I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter and are waiting for the next installment. The chapters will get longer and juicier. Until next time my sweets~!**


	3. Who Are You?

**Hello all! Since I graduate high school today (yay me!) I figured I would update on this very special day. So I hope you enjoy! Please read the notes at the end~**

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><p>She was afraid.<p>

How much had she changed in only three months?

Why did that lie come out so easily?

Perhaps it was because that was what she wished, wanted, _needed _to be doing. Perhaps that side of her that still felt as if she could be a sort of big sister to Azusa had taken over. Whatever it was, Mio knew that it was a lie no matter which way you looked at it.

_"Ano…are you going home after this?"_

_"I'm going to Ritsu's actually," Mio replied, giving her own small smile._

Mio choked the sob that was preparing to come up and out of her throat. As she did when frightened, she pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around them and burying her face in them. Her long dark tresses were falling over her back and shoulders, her bangs tickling her bare kneecaps. She felt the moist feeling of her tears trickling onto her knees and sticking to her eyes and cheeks.

And now…here she was skipping school.

What had she become?

Without her friends by her side, Mio found that the little confidence she had built up over the years was slowly diminishing. There was no Ritsu to tease her and cajole her. No Azusa to look after. No Yui to put a smile on her face.

But there was-

_Ring, Ring, Ring. _

Mio jumped nearly two inches into the air. She grabbed her purple cell phone off of the desk, wondering if her parents had somehow already found out that she had ditched school for today. She wiped her tear filled eyes to be able to see the lit-up screen better and found that it read _Call from Mugi-chan. _

Mio sighed and sat looking at the phone until it read that she did now had 1 missed call. It was not that she did not appreciate Mugi calling her, but there was just nothing she could say to the girl. Mugi called every once in a while to check up on Mio and to see if she needed anything….but that was just Mugi being Mugi. There was really nothing the motherly-like girl could do to help Mio at all.

_Zzzzt. Zzzzzt. _

Mio was surprised when her phone suddenly started to vibrate in her hand, signaling a text message. She flipped the phone open and read the contents.

_From: Mugi-chan_

_Message: I'm outside. Open the door? _

Mio sighed and clapped her phone closed. She did not want to leave the girl out there but she really did not want to talk right now. Nonetheless, she forced her stiff legs to move and carry her out of her room and down to the door. As soon as she opened the door, a bright looking Mugi stepped in.

"Ohayo gozaimasu Mio-chan!" the blond greeted cheerfully. She was such a contradiction to Mio in every way that Mio was almost put off by the girl. She shut the door behind Mugi and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Mugi-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Well you didn't come to school today so I figured that I would make a personal visit," Mugi replied, touching her own hair. Mio frowned. It was strange; where Mugi was light and delicate Mio seemed heavy and tough. Where Mugi was twinkling and energetic, Mio was dull and sluggish.

How could Mugi still be so…happy? Despite not having any friends…despite what had happened between them all.

"_It's everyone's fault!" _

"_We know that…there's nothing we can do." _

"_But we should've! We should've…" _

Mio looked away from her past friend. "Mugi- Tsumugi-chan….I appreciate all this, but it's not really necessary."

"I know it isn't," Mugi smiled despite Mio's attempt at calling her unfamiliarly, causing Mio to widen her eyes. "Demo…I got a text from Azusa-chan this morning. It was the first time in a long time…she said that she wanted to meet in the clubroom after school. I just wanted to see if you would come too, Mio-chan. I just wanted to ask you that in person," she went on, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

"Azusa-chan…." Mio whispered. She squeezed her arm with her left hand and looked down. She shook her head. "No, I can't Mugi-chan."

"Don't you think we should talk about Ritsu-chan?"

Mio froze. Her grey eyes looked everywhere but into Mugi's ocean-blue eyes.

"Ritsu will be fine on her own," Mio replied as evenly as she could.

'Why all these lies?' Mio turned her watery eyes away from Mugi.

"Ah…alright," Mugi said. "Well, if you decide to come today, we're meeting at four." Mugi said, moving towards the door. She opened it by herself and started to exit, but stopped and said quietly, "Ricchan didn't go to school today either, by the way."

Mio shut her eyes as Mugi finally left her house.

'Ritsu…you idiot.'

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><p>"Azunyan! Where are you going? You can't just skip school! That's bad!"<p>

Azusa's feet crunched on crisp leaves as she ran as fast as her small body would allow her. Yui was not too far behind her, and Azusa could not be sure if the deceased girl was floating or actually running. But she could not take the time to look back and see. She was on a mission. She had thought about it all night, and now she knew what she had to do to get everyone back together.

It started with Mugi…she knew that the graceful blond would not brush her off. So she had texted her early this morning. She had planned on asking Mio to her face in school, but after seeing that Mio did not attend school today, Mugi said that she would get Mio herself.

It almost seemed as if Mugi had left Azusa to get Ritsu on purpose.

The ojou-sama had texted Azusa directions to where she could find the also ditching Ritsu. She arrived at her destination quicker than she had expected.

Club Sakamoto.

It was a popular club that had just been built recently. It was for people eighteen and up but…

"Password?"

"Mustard seed riceballs," Azusa answered as confidently as she could even though she thought that that was a ridiculous password.

"Welcome, kid," the bouncer said, opening the door behind him slightly so that she could enter.

Thankfully, the club let anyone in during the day even without an i.d if they knew the password of the day. Azusa did not know how Mugi knew the password, and she really did not want to know for some reason. She could feel Yui moving timidly behind her as they moved through the small crowd in the middle of the dance floor to get to the bar. The whole place was big, and Azusa imagined that it was packed on the weekends at night.

As for now, the lights were only slightly dimmed. There were only two more people at the bar; a man looking about in his forties with heavy bags beneath his eyes and a woman wearing a mini-skirt and sipping lazily at some light green drink.

"What'll be kid?" the bartender asked, cocking an eyebrow up as he wiped at a square shaped glass with a soft looking white towel.

"Ano…water, please," Azusa replied, frowning when the man grunted and walked away to return with an ice cold water bottle. "How much?" she asked, reaching into the small pocket of her backpack for her wallet.

"It's on the house," the man replied, waving his arm in a lazy way before walking away.

Azusa sighed in relief as he went to go check on his other customers, probably more interested in getting someone to buy a more pricey drink. Azusa opted to swivel around in her seat and stare at the band that was on stage right now. They were just finishing up a song, the few people in the crowd clapping lightly.

'Mugi-senpai said Ritsu-senpai would be here…' Azusa thought, frowning.

"Ne, Azunyan. What are we doing here?" Yui finally spoke up from her seat next to Azusa. She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and tilted her head to the side like a small animal.

"Finding Ritsu-senpai," Azusa replied, not caring if she looked as if she were talking to herself or not since most of the people here were obviously drunk anyways.

The band had moved off of the stage to be replaced with another, and Azusa and Yui's eyes widened at what they saw.

"One, two, three, four!" The drumsticks beat together, signaling the band to begin playing their song. The bass and guitarist led the way as the keyboardist started after them.

She knew that off-tempo drum smashing anywhere….

"Ritsu-senpai/Ricchan!" Azusa and Yui said in unison, both standing to their feet in their surprise.

She was behind the rest of the band members, smashing fervently at the drumheads. The song was loud and crazy, matching the appearances of the entire band. The all-girl group was dressed much like Sawako's old group did back in their prime. Their faces were painted all different colors, their hair wild and spiky, the singer practically yelling her emotions into the microphone.

But somehow it was not like Death Devil's songs at all. It was even angrier, the type of song that makes one want to get up and start a riot; the type of song that flowed anger straight through the listeners' ears and into their blood system. The crowd was pumping with the music, some shouting and some even stumbling in their liquor-induced unbalanced state.

Azusa and Yui's eyes stayed on Ritsu the entire time. Sweat was dripping down her forehead as she rocked out. Her eyes glistened with fresh tears as the song came to an end, the singer screaming into the microphone with all her fury and pain. By the time the song was over, the crowd was cheering and Ritsu was panting heavily.

"Ah- Ritsu-senpai!" Azusa reached out when the band quickly gathered their things and left to the stage to allow the next group to get their chance in the spotlight. Azusa swiveled around in her chair again and called, "Bartender!"

"Huh? What is it, kid?" The bartender was back with his raised eyebrow.

"Where do the bands go after their finished performing?" she asked quickly, practically falling over the countertop.

"Eh? Most of 'em go home since it's only the afternoon and not really a party here till late at night," he explained, scratching his head, "not like they get paid to stay. Ch, they hardly get paid at all for this time of day."

"Arigato!" Azusa thanked him, grabbing her water bottle and running to the exit as quickly as she could. Once outside, she smoothed out her skirt and leaned against the brick wall behind her, thankful that the alley was not filled with creeps or something weird. She looked at Yui, who had just now appeared again. The girl did not look sad…she looked…blank. "Yui-senpai?"

Before Yui could answer, the door opened, revealing the now clean faces of the band that had just played. The group of girls were laughing playfully, the one with orange hair punching the one with spiky brown hair on the shoulder. The all filed out, either not noticing or not caring about Azusa standing there staring at them until the last person exited the building.

Ritsu stopped, her amber eyes widening a bit when she recognized the pigtailed girl before her. Azusa did not know what to say; she had acted on impulse and adrenaline so she had not really thought about what she would actually say to Ritsu when she got the chance.

"Eh? Tainaka?" the orange haired girl turned around. "What's wrong?" she looked at Azusa pointedly, "this girl a stalker or somethin'?"

"Ehhehheh," Ritsu laughed nervously and ran a hand through her hair. For the first time, Azusa noticed that Ritsu was not wearing her usual yellow headband so her long bangs were splayed about her forehead. "I wouldn't say stalker is the word," Ritsu informed them, tugging at her black hoodie a bit.

"Well we're gonna go to the truck, you comin' with or not?" the orange haired girl inquired, seeming to grow impatient with Ritsu's beating around the bush.

"Nah, I'll come next time," Ritsu waved them off with a hand. The orange hair girl shrugged and the other two members followed her away. Ritsu pushed her bangs up with her hand and laughed nervously again. "Yeah, that's Kurai-san. Funny name, huh?"

"U-un…" Azusa nodded, then looked to the side at Yui, who was staring at Ritsu in the strangest way Azusa had ever seen. It was if the girl was completely entranced. 'I have to do this…' Azusa thought, doing her best to look Ritsu in the eyes. "R-Ritsu-senpai-"

"Ah~ I didn't expect you to hang out in places like this, Azusa-chan," Ritsu commented. "Guess we've all changed, ne?"

She chuckled in a way that just didn't fit her, and started to move away. Azusa, a bit taken aback by what she had said, stared at her back as she slowly walked away.

"Azunyan!" Yui shouted, looking despararetly.

"Ritsu-senpai, matte!" Azusa called, causing Ritsu to stop walking, her hands tucked into her pockets. "Mugi-senpai and I are meeting in the clubroom today…if you wanted to join us…Mio-senpai might come too!" Azusa's words were on the verge of running together as she spat them out in a hurry, her cheeks reddening in her strain.

"Mio is?" Ritsu asked lowly, her back still facing Azusa so that the younger girl could not see her face.

"Mugi-senpai's probably talking to her right now!"

"Azusa-chan…"

Azusa gasped as her back suddenly forcefully hit the bricks behind her. Her shoulders were being squeezed by two hands painfully.

"Azunyan!" Yui's high voice shouted worriedly.

Azusa shook in mild fear and shock as she could feel Ritsu's breath against her ear. "She won't come," Ritsu whispered, "Azusa-chan…I know I'm not always serious but…Mio won't come no matter how many times you ask her. So don't be disappointed, okay? You're still good so…don't be like us."

Finished with her short speech, Ritsu pulled back, and Azusa saw the tears clouding her eyes for little more than two seconds before the drummer turned and ran. Azusa allowed herself to slip to the ground onto her bottom. Tears welled in her eyes, her throat clenching up.

"I-it's alright," Yui tried to assure her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Ricchan is still Ricchan no matter what she says. You can see it too, ne, Azunyan? Right?"

"I…I don't see it," Azusa breathed out. "I- I don't see it, Yui-senpai."

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><p>"I thought you weren't comin' Tainaka," Kurai said, swinging her heavily booted foot onto the glass table. She took a final drag from her cigarette before crushing the end in the ashtray and leaving it there. "Who was that anyways?" she asked since it did not seem as if Ritsu would answer her statement anytime soon.<p>

"An old friend," Ritsu answered with her voice devoid of any emotion, swinging her backpack onto the floor.

"Hmm…" Kurai swung her feet onto the floor and marched over to the backpack and picked it up despite Ritsu's protests. The orange haired girl with five rings in each of her ears and a small orange nose-ring squinted her hazel eyes. "This keychain," she said, lifting up the keychain for Ritsu to see, "matches the one that girl had on hers."

"Yeah, it does," Ritsu agreed with a slight nod of her head.

{_SLAP!}_

Ritsu was shocked when Kurai's hand suddenly met her cheek. She nearly was knocked off balance but regained her composure quickly, putting a hand to her tender and reddening cheek. Perhaps she looked tough and tomboyish, but that did not mean that Ritsu had been in many fights in her life. Sure, there was the occasional hit thrown once or twice. But a teacher had always been there to break it up before things got out of control.

Well, there was no teacher now.

And Ritsu had been just itching to vent her emotions out somehow.

She curled her hand into a fist and swiftly connected it with Kurai's temple, causing the older girl to fly back a bit and fall onto her butt.

Now Ritsu's cheek and fingers hurt, but they could not compare to the dull aching feeling in her chest. She had trusted Kurai…she had been friends with her and even so-

"Aren't we good enough for you, Tainaka?"

Ritsu could not believe her ears. Their other two friends, Rin and Akane, were at Kurai's side already. They seemed just as shocked as Ritsu was.

"Even though we took you in when you were wandering around the damn park like some lost kid, you still wanna go back to the people that left you?" Kurai shouted. She pushed Rin and Akane away and stood to her feet. The sound of her heavy boots thumped in Ritsu's ears as she approached her. Kurai was just about two inches taller than Ritsu, and she pulled her by the collar towards her. "What the fuck is your problem Tainaka Ritsu?"

"I-I'm…" Ritsu, "I'm not going back to them!" she shouted, pushing Kurai away with both of her hands. "I wouldn't do that even if I didn't know you."

Kurai frowned and flicked her short orange hair out of her eyes. "Good," she said with a smirk, "because I need you, Tainaka."

Somehow…Ritsu did not like the sound of that.

It was four o' clock already. Mugi and Azusa sat staring at each other in an uncomfortable silence. Mugi had explained that she did not think that Mio would be joining them and Azusa had explained what had gone down at the club. Yui stood in silence looking out of the window.

"Hmm…Azunyan! Mio-chan's here!" Yui suddenly called, a big smile on her face as she jumped up and down excitedly.

"Eh?" Azusa said out loud and rushed to the window, where they could see Mio entering the building. "Mugi-senpai, it's Mio-senpai!"

"H-hontou?" Mugi asked just as excitedly as Yui. She clasped her hands together and giggled, "I suppose she couldn't resist after all."

"Un!" Azusa nodded happily.

It was only a matter of moments until Mio slowly opened them music room's door. She stared at Mugi and Azusa momentarily before turning away with a light blush on her face and muttering a quiet hello.

"I'm glad you could make it Mio-chan," Mugi said.

Mio sighed and nodded. "What is this about?" she looked pointedly at Azusa, who jumped a bit under the older girl's intense gaze.

"W-well…I just thought that…we should try to get the band back together," Azusa said quietly, not looking at either of the two girls in the room. She could already feel the air thickening around her as everyone, even Yui, was silent.

Finally, Mio sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Gomen ne, Azusa-chan, but that's impossible."

"Eh? But why?" Azusa stood up, her small hands balled up into fists.

"We have no drummer," Mio counted off on her hands, "the club and more importantly, the club room doesn't exist anymore, and we….have no singer…" Mio swallowed, and Azusa saw Yui move a bit closer to her.

"You can sing Mio-senpai," Azusa countered, "I-I'm sure Yui-senpai would like it if-"

"Don't, Azusa," Mio ordered, her voice more tight and stern than Azusa had ever heard it before.

"It's not a bad idea," Mugi spoke up, albeit a bit timidly. "A-Azusa-chan's right…"

"It's a great idea, Azunyan," Yui assured her with a small smile to encourage her.

"Mio-senpai, if you'd just hear me out," Azusa tried again, "I'm just saying that Yui-sen-"

"I wish I could say her name as easily as you do," Mio shook her head. "…but it doesn't matter what she would want because…because," Mio's shoulders shook as she shook her head back and forth faster and faster, "because she's not here…"

Yui frowned. "M-Mio-chan…"

"Even if Yui-senpai's not here! I'm sure she would want that," Azusa cried, "I'm sure she would want us to be together again!"

Mio did not answer, instead wiping her tears away with her forearms. "Azusa-chan…you're just making it harder…I…I can't…."

"But Yui-senpai's right _here_!" Azusa shouted, stamping her foot in frustration.

And all was silent as Mio, Mugi and even Yui stared at her with widened eyes.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Kurai means dark in Japanese (unless someone is trying to make a fool of me -_-') which is why I named her that, because she's probably the darkest character that will be written (hence why Ritsu thought it was a funny name, get it?) I know many people don't approve of OCs but I believe that if I had just stuck any of those random characters into this story such as Ichigo or something, then it still would've came out the same. But I did not want to butcher their characters just for my own sake so I just stuck with this. I hope it doesn't offend anyone, besides, these aren't Mary Sues or anything, right? **

**Mio and Ritsu's personalities may seem a bit different, but c'mon...well, hey, I'll put it this way. After one of my very special loved ones died I was not exactly the same person either. We'll just have to hope that Azunyan can revert them back to their old selves! **

**Aha! I left you with a cliffhanger! I hope that you all anticipate the next chapter as always. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I haven't felt this motivated to do something outside of school in awhile. Until next time, my friends~! **


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